Tuto DIY: Make your own patchwork wallet!

Ouch, your last wallet has just broke, you even almost lost your cards and you are flat broke as I am ? Don’t worry, grab old clothes we gonna, today, make a new patchwork wallet !

What do you need ?

Fabric, the most rigid you have. You can take jean or web. Take an old pant, this is perfect!.

A transparent plastic. Like a plastic where you put your sheets in.

An elastic in fabric, a ribbon, or another fabric strip.

A seamable button, or a pressure-button, velcro, or anything else,…

Scissors to cut fabric.

A ruler

Seam tools

Note: This tutorial is intended to people who knows at least the basics in sewing.

Note 2.0: I advise you to sew majoritarily with your hands. You can use the machine, but for some seams, this is better if you do them with hands..

Note 2.1: You can totally adjust the measures as you wish. Mine aren’t an absolute truth.

The Pieces

Our first piece is used to expose your ID Card. Let’s call it, the ID-pocket.
To cut it, place your card on one of the edge of your fabric, then cut around it.

WARNING: When you cut fabric in sewing, you always need to cut 1 or 2 little centimeters more for the seams.
You should have a rectangle that sizes [your card size] + 1 or 2 cm at each edge.(See below. Note: this is the french or european ID Card measures on the picture)

Then, cut the transparent plastic with the same way.

Here is a picture to help you:

For the second piece, used as a base for the several pockets, cut a rectangle long enough to put your biggest card, and high enough in order to your wallet may have the size of your ID card. To your wallet length, add 3-4 centimeters to be… safe.

Note: If you do that on a pant, cut a piece of leg (of your pant!) and sew all around your rectangle to make a lining.

Look below to have an idea of the measures:

The third piece(s) are the pockets. The biggest one (background’s one) must be able to contain your biggest card. Cut to your piece according to its measures. Give it a smaller hight than card’s hight (in order to the card surpass the pocket); remove something like 2cm. Then, with the same way, you can add a second pocket, a third pocket, as much as you wish.Maybe not 10… I don’t think the wallet will be able to contain 10 pockets haha…

WARNING: Keep in mind that each pocket will have an incrementing width compared to the one from below. This means your second pocket, even if measures are same, must have a bigger width than pocket from below. Why? Simply for seams and in order to your cards can enter in these pockets. You’ll understand when you’ll assembly the pockets.

The fourth and last piece, is the elastic, the ribbon, or anything you chose which will be used to close the wallet. However, I advise to not make that piece right now, but make it later, only after done the wallet.

If this is an elastic, cut a strip equal to 75% of the width of the opened wallet. Or you can simply wrap it around the wallet and see which length suffices to close and tighten the wallet.
If this is ribbon, or anything else, cut a strip equal to the total width of the opened wallet.Then, make slit, or a hole equal to the size of your button, on one of the extremity. Sew the button on the other extremity.
If you opted for the velcro, sew one of the part on the extremity, then, sew the other part on the other extremity and on the other side of the strip!

Assembly

You have to begin by the second and third pieces, the base of your wallet and the first pocket. Sew the most central possible your first pocket on the base. Be careful to sew ONLY on the sides and on the bottom of your pocket. Then, same way, sew the other pockets above the preivous pocket. Be also careful to sew ONLY the sides and thee bottom everytime.You can do that with the machine, except if this becomes too large to slide under the presser. In that case, do it with your hands.Note: Advice; do folds on sides and bottoms of your pockets, and sew above them. This will make the seam more durable. And this will enables to create a “volume” to your pockets.

Then, you will assembly the first piece, the ID-Pocket. Take your plastic, and sew it above the fabric with the same size. Do the seams only on sides and bottom in order to let a space to enter your IDs. You can do it with the machine.

Now, you will seam, on the side you wish, the first piece to the wallet base. To do that, do a fold on each piece, and sew these folds together.The folds must be inside the wallet. You can do it with the machine, but I advise you to do it with hands, this will be more precise, and you won’t reduce mistakenly your ID-Pocket.

At the opposite of your ID-Pocket, you will sew the elastic/ribbon/fabric,…
You just need to make two little vertical seams to hold it well. Then, install the fasteners (velcro, buttons,…) as explained previously.
And, now,… YOU FINISHED!Put your cards inside, test your closing, and you should have approximatively that result:

Approximatively ? Well said !

Yeh, I’m a fervent adept of nearly. The wallet I have done, before that tutorial, is a bit failed compared to the wallet you should have. My ID-Pocket has been reduced because of a mistake, my pockets are disproportionates, my seams are random,…But it’s good for me! And this is the most important thing: your wallet must be good for you! My tutorial only serves to show you an idea of how to do it, you’re free to do as you want! 🙂

Upgrades ideas:

A smartcard pocket:

This may be an interesting idea. You won’t have to search your smartcard in your wallet, you will just have to put your wallet on the terminal.

I advise you to do this pocket with a velcro, behind the ID-Pocket.

To do this, cut a piece of fabric with the same size of the first piece. Sew on the top of this part one velcro, and the other velcro on the opposite face of plastic. Then, you just have to sew velcro against velcro, and like every pocket: sew only sides and bottom.

A Money Pocket:

You can make this pocket behind the base (2nd piece). You just have to sew another piece of fabric, and put a zipper on the top.

Hide edges with fabric:

If you made your wallet like me, with jean, it might be interesting to hide edges that frays. You just need to cut little strips and sew fabric-folds on the wallet’s edges.